The xfilter 500 is a true linked stereo EQ in the 500 series format. It gives you the expensive sound of an all class-A equalizer in a surprisingly affordable package, with a precise stereo image based on computer-selected, stepped potentiometers and low tolerance film capacitors.
With its exceptionally open sound, straight transient projection and solid punch, the xfilter 500 is the perfect match for your xpressor 500 – or any other piece of outboard gear!
Using an analog EQ on a stereo buss can be quite tricky, as only very few units offer the possibility to link their two mono channels for true stereo processing.
As a result, the user needs to fiddle around with many knobs in order to cope with the tedious task of matching the settings for both channels as good as possible. The problem gets only worse when the controllers do not have any steps for reference.
But while there are so many compressors in the market that can be linked for stereo operation, why are there almost no EQs which can do this, too? One of the main answers is component tolerances. Obviously, you want the two linked channels to behave exactly the same, but the natural tolerances that especially potentiometers and capacitors have counteract this ideal characteristic.
To make a long story short: The xfilter 500 solves this problem by using computer-selected dual and quad layer pots as well as special low tolerance caps.
In a linked stereo EQ, the potentiometers need a lot of layers. The pots for setting the mixers (gain) have two layers each, while the pots for setting the frequencies even have a total of four layers each!
The problem occurs that every single layer has its own component tolerance, and while layer A could be at the absolute minimum of the allowed tolerance, layer B could be at the absolute maximum. As a result, the filter stages of the left and right channels would not behave the same.
To solve this, every single potentiometer in the xfilter 500 is measured and selected with an Audio Precision rig and computer routines written exactly for this task. As a result, only 65% of the dual layer pots and only 50% of the quad pots we buy go into production – the rest is put aside.
It’s a true custom shop option we are proud to offer with every xfilter 500 free of any up-charges.
